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Sunday, 30 November 2014

Lolzz… Nothing is permanent except death. Thisis definitely not going to be good news toNigerian celebrities, most especially the ones thatjust acquired this multi-million naira jeep as A G-Wagon has been spotted in Lagos been used forpublic transportation.It transports pa’s’sengers from Lagos to Ibadanand also plies Ile-Ife and Akure. What is yourtake?

Pope Francis, who is currently on a statevisit to Turkey, joined Muslim faithfuls inIstanbul to pray at the Grand Mufti ofIstanbul, Istanbul Blue Mosque yesterday.The Pope stood with his head bowed andhands clasped in front of him in 2-minutes ofsilent prayer inside the 17th-century SultanAhmet mosque, aiming to show respect forIslam and encourage stronger ties betweenthe two faiths.

Abuja was penultimate week hit with the horrificstory of a man who poured a substancesuspected to be acid on his wife and himself aftera heated argument.Leadership’s David Aduge-Ani who has beenfollowing the event writes on new developmentssince the sad incident occurred.Going back to the University of Abuja TeachingHospital, Gwagwalada-Abuja to visit the latestvictim of an acid attack was not easy. Notbecause one was not sympathetic but becauseone couldn’t be sure of what to expect on gettingthere.However, it was unavoidable and necessary fortwo reasons:First to show sympathy to the victim and givesome sort of support. Secondly, to hear whatcould have really transpired; what would havedriven a man to harm his wife, and himself, thatway.The strangeness of what man can do in a ragehas always been baffling; unimaginable thingshave happened from maiming to killing in thename of anger. The story of Romania and MariaEze is not different.On reaching the hospital, it was revealed that MrRomania Eze had died on Thursday, the day afterthe incident while the wife, Maria Eze who hadbeen unconscious since the incident has beentaken to her hometown in Enugu State. Thecouple both hailed from Udenu local governmentarea of Enugu State.Making further enquiries over Maria’s condition,LEADERSHIP learnt that she had not opened hereyes since the incident while it was speculatedthat the acid bath may have damaged her eyes.This is in addition to the burns on her head, faceand other parts of her upper body.Penultimate Wednesday, the middle-aged manwho before the incident lived with his wife inGwagwa, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC),was reported to have poured a liquid substancesuspected to be acid on his wife and later pouredsome on himself, inflicting severe burns on bothof them.It was gathered that the couple had been livinghappily with each other as they both owned ashop in the area where they sell bambara nut inbags. The couple had embarked on storage of theproduce early in the year so as to have bountifulsales, especially in the yuletide season. They hadgone as far as borrowing from individuals andgroups to support their plans.Trouble started between the couple whenRomania noticed that the number of bags of thecommodity did not match the number heanticipated. It was at that point that he began toenquire and discovered that his wife had allegedlybeen wittingly hiding parts of the sales from theinvestment in her private account.According to neighbours, the late Romaniasuspected Maria of sending the money she madefrom business deals to her younger brother tokeep, a development that angered him. One of theneighbours also told LEADERSHIP that Maria hadallegedly been using part of the money to build ahouse in her hometown without her husband’sknowledge.The couple are blessed with eight children; threeof whom are married, one son currently anundergraduate of one of the universities in thecountry and four in secondary school.However, due to the alleged negative lifestyle ofthe wife, the husband was reported to have gonebankrupt. Many of his creditors had been visitinghim, requesting for the money he borrowed fromthem for the storage but he was unable to payback his debts.Another neighbour who did not want his namementioned said what even angered the husbandthe more was that he heard that his wife wasallegedly sleeping with other men which led himto attack her with acid with the intention oftaking his life and that of his wife.A family source told LEADERSHIP that the womanwas taken to the village to find out the primarycause of the problem since many peoplesuspected a foul play, saying that what happenedgoes beyond the ordinary.

He said, “This couple had been living happilytogether for many years. It is surprising to hearof this type of incident happening. To theimmediate family, the incident is beyond ordinaryand must be looked into.”On November 24, a free-will donation wasorganised in a Catholic church in Gwagwa toa’s’sist the survivor of this horrid ordeal. It wasgathered that the many faithful in the churchdonated generously to help save Maria’s life whowas a member of the church and believed to be amember of the Catholic Women Organisation(CWO) in the branch.But whether this a’s’sistance would reach MrsEze on time and save the situation remains afigment.

A student of Imo State University simply identifiedas Chisom lost his life during the usual"celebration" that follows every final examinationfor final year students which usually involvespouring water and other assorted liquids on finalyear students.According to an eyewitness, the victim fell in to aditch as he was running around and pouring wateron final year students and by the time he wasrescued from the ditch , he was dead already." We were celebrating our final year students bypouring them water, so as we were running aroundhe fell inside a pit full of dirty water (sewage) butit didn't cover his head but before we could drawhim out he was dead already because he wasasthmatic". The eye witness stated.His corpse was deposited at Aladinma Mortuaryfrom where it was taken to his home town Ihiala.It was gathered that the decease was A 200 levelstudent of the institution.

The federal government has unveiled thenames of Nigeria’s Top 100 companies setto be honoured by President GoodluckJonathan on Monday.Some of the companies include DangoteGroup, First Bank, Chevron, Elizade, MTN,Globacom, Chi Group, Nigerian Breweries,Nigeria Flour Mills, UAC, APN Terminal, EkoSupreme, Mamuda Industries, Dolphin Foods,Wemco, Bolawaole Enterprises and Indorama.The Minister of Industry, Trade andInvestment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, describedthe Top 100 Businesses Initiative as a boldeffort to celebrate major investors andcompanies that are contributing to thedevelopment of the economy.Aganga said that the country adopted similarcriteria as Fortune 500 in the US, in selectingthe top businesses. He said this makes itvery objective and verifiable.“We want to make it absolutely clear that ithas integrity. Coincidentally, it is happeningin the year of our centenary. But we will in120 years, in 150 years, in 200 years go backto the Centenary City, we will see theemblem of these companies as a Top 100companies in the year Nigeria had at itscentenary,” he stated.He expressed pride at the achievement of theselected companies, as it is investors thatcreate jobs, wealth, facilitate economicgrowth and generate income for thegovernment.“We intend to use this Top 100 BusinessesPresidential Award Dinner to say big thankyou to those companies for their firmcommitment and belief in our economy andto charge them to do more by bringing moreinvestments to Nigeria.“It is also aimed at creating a platform forpublic-private sector interactions on Nigerianeconomic policies.Aganga noted that with the yearning fordiversification of Nigeria’s economy, the Top100 list has shown that the country ismoving in the right direction. “They cutacross sectors including oil and gas,telecommunications, manufacturing, financialservices, construction, fast movingconsumables, food manufacturers, logistics,among others,” he said.“This process has, once again, demonstratedthat there are many reputable companies inNigeria. It is a tough job finalising this list.Nigeria is gifted with winners, greatinvestors, great companies and, of course,the opportunities in Nigeria are huge.“Behind Nigeria’s economic success, are realcompanies that do business everyday. Thosecompanies invest, employ our people andthey keep our economy growing. Thisadministration is aware that it is privatecompanies that are driving our economy.Government is here to provide enablingenvironment. it is the private sector that willhelp Nigeria achieve its economic goals,”Aganga noted.Like the America’s Fortune 500, the Ministersaid the Top 100 Businesses AssessmentCommittee gleaned information from publiccompanies’ annual reports, Nigeria StockExchange, NSE, the Financial ReportingCouncil, FRC, as well as reports from privatecompanies that publish revenue figures, todecide the winners.The committee was headed by the ExecutiveSecretary and Chief Executive Officer of theFRC, Mr. Jim Obazee. Other members wereDirector-General, Industrial Training Fund,Mrs. Juliet Onaeko; Managing Director, Bankof Industries, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa;Executive Secretary, Sugar Council, Dr.Lateef Busari; Chief Executive Officer,Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema;Executive Chairman, Federal Inland RevenueService, Mr. Kabir Mashi; and ManagingDirector, Nigerian Export Processing ZonesAuthority, Mr. Gbenga Kuye.Also in the committee were the ExecutiveSecretary, Nigerian Investment PromotionCommission, Mrs. Salatu Umar; ChiefExecutive Officer, Nigerian Export PromotionCouncil, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo; CEO, JakeRiley Limited, Mrs. Funmi Ogbue; a Directorfrom MITI, Bambo Kunle-Salami, andrepresentatives of the Minister.

Former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak hasbeen cleared of charges of corruption and killingof hundreds of Egyptian protesters in a revolutionthat toppled him in 2011.Mubarak ruled Egypt for 29 years. The 86-year-old Mubarak was convicted in 2012 of issuingorders to kill peaceful protesters during thecountry's 2011 uprising and was sentenced tolife in prison. He appealed and was granted anew trial last year.Also acquitted were Mubarak's former InteriorMinister Habib el-Adly and six of el-Adly's aides,who'd been accused of being connected to thedeaths of 239 protesters as security forcescracked down on them in 2011. Mubarak's twosons also were acquitted Saturday of corruption.Mubarak still has a three-year sentence for aprevious conviction for embezzlement, but it notclear when he'll be freed.Prosecutors have the option of appealing theacquittal decision.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, OlugbengaAshiru died yesterday November 29th in a SouthAfrican hospital after a long battle with braintumor. He was 66 years old.The career diplomat served as Nigerian Ministerfrom 2011 until 2013. He was also Nigeria'sHigh Commissioner to South Africa. May his soulrest in peace...amen.

A former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon(retd.), has taken a swipe at the United Stateson its refusal to sell arms to Nigeria to fight theinsurgency by the Islamic group, Boko Haram.Gowon, in an interview criticised the US for not selling military hardwareto Nigeria, saying if the US was truly adiplomatic friend to Nigeria, it should doeverything possible to keep the corporateexistence of Nigeria.This, according to him, includes assisting Nigeriato fight aggression from any quarter.The US had on November 12, 2014, defended itsrefusal to sell cobra helicopters to Nigeria,saying the Federal Government was free to buyfighter jets from any other country.The State Department’s spokeswoman, JenPsaki, said, “Nigeria has purchased helicoptersthat originated in countries other than the USand nothing in our decision prevents Nigeria fromobtaining weapons and equipment from othersources,”Psaki had reacted to the allegation by theNigerian Ambassador to the US, Prof. AdebowaleAdefuye, that Washington declined to sell armsto Nigeria.Adefuye had told members of the Council onForeign Relations on November 10 thatWashington was not doing enough to assistNigeria in combating the Boko Haram insurgencyin North-East geopolitical zone of the country.He said, “The U.S. government has up till todayrefused to grant Nigeria’s request to purchaselethal equipment that would have brought downthe terrorists within a short time on the basis ofthe allegations that Nigeria’s defence forceshave been violating human rights of Boko Haramsuspects when captured or arrested.“We find it difficult to understand how and why,in spite of the U.S. presence in Nigeria, with theirsophisticated military technology, Boko Haramshould be expanding and becoming moredeadly.”But Psaki had stated that the US refused to sellthe helicopters to Nigeria due to concerns aboutthe ability of the military to use and maintainthem.The cobra is a combat aircraft with the ability toclimb at the rate of 8.2metres per second. It isequipped with a 20 mm M197 3-barrelled Gatlingcannon in the A/A49E-7 turret (750 roundsammo capacity).The spokeswoman also said there were ongoingconcerns about Nigerian military’s protection ofcivilians when conducting military operations,adding that these had been discussed with theNigerian authorities.Gowon, while speaking to one of ourcorrespondents, however, alleged that the US didsame to the Nigerian government during the CivilWar, when it refused to sell fighter jets to Nigeriato stop Biafra’s bomber jets.As the military Head of State, Gowon hadprosecuted the Nigerian civil war, aka BiafranWar, which began on July 6, 1967 and ended onJanuary 15, 1970.The war was declared after an attemptedsecession by the Eastern Region of the country,which declared itself the ‘Republic of Biafra.’Gowon said, “The same thing happened duringthe Civil War. The Americas refused to sell armsto us. I wanted them to help me with somemodest aircraft so that I could chase outOjukwu’s (Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu) B52 or B56as they called it. That was all I wanted; not toshoot it down but to chase it away so that itdoes not drop bombs and kill innocent people.“But the Americans refused to help us and theyeven refused to sell arms and ammunitions andthe spare parts of the equipment that we gotfrom them. And at the same time, they (America)were shipping aircraft and loads of arms andammunition to Zaire. What sort of friends arethey?“You call them your friends and they say thatthey are helping us to fight terror. We don’t wanttheir people (Americans) to come and fight thewar (against Boko Haram) for us but, at least,we need the equipment.

“During my time (as Head of State), I had to goto the Russians to get the equipment we wantedin order to prosecute that war. If they cannothelp us, they should allow us to go elsewhereand get what we want to ensure that we dealwith this particular problem.”A former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Col.Abubakar Umar (retd.), corroborated Gowon,while decrying that Western allies, who werepaying much attention to the Islamic State ofIraq and Syria in the Middle East, “have decidedto turn a blind eye to what is happening inNigeria.”He pointed out that Boko Haram is to Nigeriawhat ISIS is to the Middle East, saying they boththreaten global peace and security.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also backedAdefuye’s position on arms purchase from theUS.The Director, Public Communication Division,Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ahmedu Ogbole-Ode, saidthe Nigerian ambassador had said it all on therelationship between Nigeria and America.“Our ambassador to the US has spoken. He didnot send himself there, so there is nothing morefor me to add,” he said.The US, however, said despite its insistence onnot selling arms to Nigeria, it was committed tohelping the country address the threat posed byBoko Haram and other violent extremistorganisations.The Press Attache, US Embassy, Abuja, SeanMcIntosh, in his response on why the US avoids supporting Nigeria internal wars, said his country had been workingand continued to work with Nigerian authoritiesto provide assistance with humanitarianprogrammes, intelligence and strategiccommunications.When asked to also explain the US policy thatstates America’s non-committal posture toNigeria and to name other West African countriesaffected by the policy, McIntosh said the US hadcontinued to advise the Federal Government toadopt a comprehensive approach to violentextremists.He said such approach emphasises respect forhuman rights including the freedom of religion,prioritises civilian security, and responds to theneeds of victimised communities.McIntosh listed the assistance rendered toNigeria by the US to include the provision of$19m for the vulnerable and conflict-affectedhouseholds in Nigeria by the Americangovernment in 2014.He said, “More than $7m from the US Agency forInternational Development’s Office of ForeignDisaster Assistance supports health, water andsanitation services; the delivery of emergencyrelief supplies and protection activities for womenand children in north-eastern Nigeria.“USAID/Food for Peace has provided nearly $7min emergency food assistance and the USDepartment of State has provided more than$5m to fund protection activities in affectedareas.“In addition, the US government provided morethan $54m in humanitarian assistance inCameroon, Chad and Niger, targeting refugeepopulations from neighbouring countries,including Nigeria.”The American embassy spokesman explainedthat the USAID was also in the process ofstarting two new programmes that wouldaddress critical educational needs for both boysand girls in northern Nigeria.These, according to McIntosh, include a ‘crisisresponse’ programme to be funded with about$20m to $30m. He said the programme wouldreach out with basic education to internally-displaced persons and others affected by theviolence in the north-east, including Bauchi,Gombe, and Adamawa states.“The programmes also include a ‘flagship’ five-year education programme that will strengthensystems to provide greater access and learning(increasing reading skills) for primary schoolchildren, principally in Sokoto and Bauchi, andother states of the North as conditions allow,”he explained.

McIntosh stated that two additional large USAIDprojects focused on maternal and child healthand democracy and governance aregeographically co-located in Bauchi and Sokotostates in an effort to maximise theirdevelopmental impact. He added that expansioninto additional post-conflict states would beconsidered as conditions and resources allow.

GlaxoSmithKline has announced an initialsuccess on phase 1 trial of an Ebola vaccine.The first results from the trial published onThursday in the New England Journal ofMedicine showed that a GSK and NationalInstitute of Health Ebola candidate vaccine waswell-tolerated and produced an immunologicalresponse in each of the 20 healthy adultvolunteers in the United States who received it.In a statement released on Thursday by thepharmaceutical company, the vaccine used in thetrial conducted by the NIH was co-developed bythe institute’s National Institute of Allergy andInfectious Diseases and Okairos, a biotechnologycompany acquired by GSK in 2013.The statement read in part, “It uses a type ofchimpanzee cold virus, known as chimpanzeeadenovirus type 3 (ChAd3), as a carrier to delivergenetic material from two strains of the Ebolavirus – the Sudan strain and the Zaire strain,which is responsible for the current Ebolaoutbreak in West Africa.“GSK has been working with the NIH toaccelerate development of both this bivalentversion of the candidate vaccine and amonovalent version targeting only the Zairestrain in response to the current Ebola epidemic.”Commenting on the results, Chairman of GlobalVaccines at GSK, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, said, “Weare very encouraged by these positive first trialresults showing this type of vaccine has anacceptable safety profile and can produce animmune response against Ebola in humans.Working with partners including the NIH, we’redoing all we can to advance development of acandidate vaccine in response to the Ebola crisisin West Africa.“It’s important to remember that these data arethe first piece in the jigsaw and we’re continuingto gather other important information. Over thecoming weeks, we will see results from furtherphase 1 trials which will tell us more about theprofile of the monovalent vaccine; mostsignificantly results from a trial in Mali which isassessing its safety and immune response inWest African populations.“If the combined data from these trials arepositive, the next phases of the clinical trialprogramme will begin in early 2015 to seewhether the immune response we are seeing inphase 1 actually translates into providing peoplein affected countries with meaningful protectionagainst Ebola.”Slaoui added that the phase 3 trials wouldinvolve the vaccination of thousands ofvolunteers, including frontline health-careworkers in affected countries, including Liberiaand Sierra Leone, and possibly Guinea.“If the candidate vaccine is able to protect thesehealthcare workers as we hope it will, it couldsignificantly contribute to efforts to bring thisepidemic under control,” he noted.

Punch is reporting that 63 senators as ofyesterday Thursday November 27th have signedup to the plan to impeach President GoodluckJonathan in the upper legislative chamber.They reported that one of the arrowheads of themove to remove Jonathan in the Senate showedone of their correspondents the list containing thesignatures of the senators. A source told thepaper that 8 PDP senators were among thesignatories to the planned impeachment notice.There are 109 members in the Senate.

From PunchAn All Progressives Congress senator from theNorth-West zone, who asked not to be named,told our correspondent that the lawmakersmajor grouse was the President's handling ofthe economy and political affairs of the country.The senator cited poor implementation of thenational budget since 2011, alleged high level ofcorruption and gross disregard of thelegislature at both the federal and state levels astopping the list of lawmakers anger againstJonathan.Asked whether he realised that the process ofimpeachment could be tedious and cumbersome,the senator said, We know and we areprepared to show the President that we haveresponsibility to the people and the nation ingeneral.We are prepared to lay the impeachment noticeanytime from next week. Meetings are alreadybeing held.Senator Ibrahim Musa (APC Niger North)confirmed that there were moves by somemembers of the Senate to initiate impeachmentproceedings against the President but failed togive details.I think there is something like that but I don'thave the details, it is still coming as a rumour,Musa said.

A judge in a London High Court ruled that theAmerican wife of a British Tycoon be given $530min a divorce payout. This is considered to be thebiggest divorce settlement so far in British history.The estranged wife of finance tycoon ChristopherHohn will receive an equivalent of N96 billion.The judge awarded Jamie Cooper-Hohn $493million in cash and the rest in the form of aproperty in Connecticut and adjustments to hershare of a pension.

A full judgment will be published in December, butthe figures were cited during a court hearingyesterday November 27.She was initially seeking half of her ex-husband'sassets, but he said she was entitled to just aquarter on the grounds that his talents as aninvestor constituted a special contribution to theirwealth. He also referred to himself as an"unbelievable moneymaker.In awarding Ms. Cooper-Hohn less than half ofthe couple's $1.3 billion fortune, the case couldset a legal precedent in the U.K, which hasdeveloped a wide reputation as a capital fordivorce disputes between ultra-rich couples.Mr. Hohn and Ms. Cooper-Hohn met whilestudying at Harvard University, and have beenmarried for 17 years. They have four children.The couple have been described as UK's mostgenerous philanthropists and have both said theylead relatively modest lives, given their wealth.

Here is a very loyal female dog named Masha,which has reportedly waited for almost two yearsfor her elderly owner who died sometime ago inthe hospital in Novosibirsk in Russia.Metro UK reports on Wednesday, November 26,2014, the cross breed dog appears at thereception of the hospital in Siberia each morninglike clockwork. One nurse in the hospital said,“She is waiting for him, for her owner.” Thesource revealed that when her owner was stillalive, Masha was his only visitor.She used to run back home each evening tostand guard over herowner’s belongings before resuming her vigil thenext morning at the hospital. Meanwhile, thehospital staff in whose care the dog has been areseriously looking for a new home for the “heart-broken canine.”One of the doctors at the hospital, Dr VladimirBespalov said, ‘You see her eyes, how sad theyare– it’s not the usual shiny eyes for when a dog ishappy. You can see this in animals in the samewayas with people,’ ‘We are still hoping that Mashawill be able to findanother owner. One day, and we very much wantthis day to come soon, our Masha will trustsomebody.’

A 10-year-old boy, Usen Okon, who was throwninto the Imo River in the Ikot Abasi area of AkwaIbom State, over witchcraft accusation, hassurvived the ordeal.The Senior Project Manager of the HumanistAssociation for Peace and Social ToleranceAdvancement, Mr.Ayobami Ojedokun, told Punchin Uyo on Tuesday that Okon was under the careof his paternal aunt, identified simply as Ekaeyen,at Etebi community in the Esit Eket LocalGovernment Area of the state as his parents haddied.He said a few days ago, Okon was aroused fromsleep by Ekaeyen who took him to her husbandand asked him to confess to being a wizard.He added that when Okon denied the witchcraftaccusation, his aunt threatened to throw him intoa river.Ojedokun said Ekaeyen, true to her words, onNovember 16, took Okon to the Imo River andthrew him into the water with the hope that hewould drown.“She actually threw Okon into Imo River thinkingthat the boy would drown. The boy came out ofthe water alive and went to their home, only tobe told that her auntie had relocated,” Ojedokunsaid.The acting Police Public Relations Officer, AkwaIbom State Police Command, Mr. Iboro Victor,said he was not aware of the incident.“The incident is not to my knowledge right now,”he said.

We’ve predicted this severally that some ladieswill soon start coming out without any clothe tomake a point and this beautiful lady, who is afast growing musician has just done it and her n-*de photo is causing a lot of ripples.

Crista Engles 26 year old Crista Engles wasaccidentally shot dead by her 3 year old son attheir home as she was attending to her 1 year olddaughter.

According NBC News.The little boy shot and killed his mother afterfinding a loaded semi-automatic handgun in theirhome in Tulsa, Oklahoma yesterday November25th.The woman’s mother who also lives in the house,but wasn’t present when the horrible accidentoccurred, came home and found the 3 year oldand 1 year old covered in blood and crying, this isaccording to Tulsa police. She found her daughterunresponsive beside her children and thoughtshe’d been killed by an intruder. She immediatelycalled the police.Police found out that the boy had found the gununder a sofa in the living room and hadaccidentally fired it. Unfortunately his mum wasin the line of fire. Police said when they visitedthe home, they found a lot of guns there. Thewoman’s husband wasn’t home when theincident occurred.

I know some of you can recall that he wasaccused of duping a business partner sometime ago. Well, the husband of Nollywoodactress, Mercy Aigbe, Lanre Gentry reportedlygot the beating of his life few days ago.A very reliable source reports that thehusband of Nollywood actress Mercy Aigbe,Lanre Gentry, had a rough time with one ofhis business partners who gave him thebeating of his life at his Ikeja based hotel, inwhat is seen as business gone sour.According to our source, the guy who floggedGentry to a pulp is a Special Assistant toOndo State Governor, Segun Mimiko, namedBashorun Akinloye Akinboni.

See the source reports it: –

The cause of the fight had to do withGentry’s attempt to play a fast one on theguy who had paid for a house owned by theactress’ husband, only for him to turn aroundand rent the same place to Yoruba gospelartiste, Atorise.When Bashorun Akinboni went to the hotel toenquire about the arrangement, hecoincidentally met Atorise there and anargument ensued.Bashorun Akinboni lost his temper andpounced on Larry Gentry, allegedly beatinghim to a Pulp.When the beating got too much and bloodwas gushing from all his body, Atorise tookto his heels, leaving the venue in one piece.At the end of the day, Gentry ended up withlots of bruises and was taken to a hospitalwhere he had bandages wound all over him.Another insider said: – “Lanre is in the habitof duping people and had no right to take hismoney and give someone else the house. Hehas been doing this to several people andneeds to be stopped.”

Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosunhas offered automatic employment to 15graduates of the Tai Solarin University ofEducation (TASUED), Ijagun.Amosun made this known at the combined Third,Fourth and Fifth Convocation Ceremonies of theinstitution. Over 10, 000 students graduated atthe ceremony on Friday.The 2012/2013 Best Overall Graduating Student,Mr. Adeniji K Kayode and 14 others who excelledwith First Class honours.Amosun said TASUED has proven to be a greatcitadel over its few years of existence.“It is gratifying to note that in less than 10 yearsof being a full-fledged university, Tai SolarinUniversity of Education has become one ofNigeria’s best universities, consistently amonguniversities at the top of the Nigerian universityLeague.“Also, it has continued to be a pace setter andtrail blazer in the provision of qualified teachingcorps. This Institution has not disappointed in itsmandate of producing successful graduates thathave carved a niche for themselves in theirdifferent endeavours and continued to contributetheir quota to the socio- economic developmentof our great nation,” the governor said.He advised the graduates not to depend only ontheir certificates, but rather develop their intellectand horizon as well as equip themselves with theknowledge and skills to appropriate abundantopportunities that abound in the nation.He restated the commitment of his administrationto making education more affordable.“our administration reduced school fees in all theten state-owned higher institutions of learning byas high as 60 percent in some cases. The goal ofthis policy is to make education more affordableto more people and create a relief for all parents,”he said.

The Joint Admissions and MatriculationBoard (JAMB) said it had approved 30computer-based centres for the 2015 UnifiedTertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) inLagos State.Lagos Coordinator of the Board, Dr BeatriceOkorie said that the development was a greatimprovement over the previous years whenthere were only five centres.She disclosed this when asked about theboard’s level of preparedness ahead of nextyear’s matriculation examination slated forMarch 4, 2015.The board, had during the 2014 examinationwhich comprised the Paper Pencil, ComputerBased and the Dual Based modes, declaredthat it was migrating fully to an all computerbased test, reports the News Agency ofNigeria. Now, the coordinator said that about30 fully equipped centres had been approvedfor the conduct of the examination.“Preparations are in top gear for next year’smatriculation examination. Everything isgoing as planned.“We have been visiting various centresaround the state to inspect what are onground.“So far, we are satisfied with about 30centres that have been able to meet ourrequirements as they will ensure the smoothtake off of the conduct of the examination.“We will also like to say that more centresare still going to be approved and a casewhere there is an outright absence of thebackups or the capacity for the existing onesare below expectation, we will advise for animmediate installation or a replacement.Okorie said that there was no going backfrom the full migration to the ComputerBased Test (CBT) mode.

Since going solo after her musical group, KUSH,broke up, Lara George has proved her mettle asa talented singer. With many hits to her credit,she has become a diva sought after both at homeand abroad.But things have not always been rosy for theeasy-going, ever-smiling mother of two whostormed Vanguard’s corporate office on Monday,accompanied by her husband, Gbenga.In a riveting chat session, she told her story; tookus through her journey and what she had to gothrough as a gospel artiste to have her namestamped on the music landscape of the country:

What really inspired the song Dansaki?

The song came at a moment in my life when Iwas pregnant with my second baby. I was alsoworking on my second album. I was just thankfulto God. One day I put pen to paper and said “Iam acknowledging you for who you are in my life”and the words just kept coming. I wrote half ofthe song and I left it.When I started to record, the other half of thesong came. It was one of those songs you neverthought would turn out to be a hit. I was justtrying to express myself to God .So it’s just sucha beautiful thing that people would pick from thealbum and love it.

What were you thankful for at that point in time?

I was pregnant. It wasn’t that I had any issuesgetting pregnant but you know the life of awoman, time and chance just come to make itcome together. We had put off having a baby forabout six years. Each year came and I wasn’tready.So for everything to be smooth when I wanted tohave the baby, I was grateful for that. I wasgrateful for family. I looked around me and foundthat there was nobody missing. Everybody wasintact .I could call on family and friends aroundme.I looked at my work and I was grateful.Sometimes, I just get on the internet andsomebody sends me a message from Malaysiathanking me, for a song that I did thatministered to them. Someone saying theirmarriage is still together just because I wrote asong. I thought about all these things and I wasthankful.

You said you put off having a child for six yearsand your husband allowed that?

Absolutely, for me and my career making babieshas to be something I would be ready for. We(my husband and I) couldn’t deny the fact itwould have an effect on my career, no matterhow you wanted to look at it. My husband knewthe effect the first child had on me so we decidedto space it. Just when he was getting impatient,God made it happen.

Why did you opt for Gospel music? I have alwaysloved to call my style of music inspirational.When I started out with Kush, that was the planand the vision. I believe music is a responsibility.I have always said so and I just grew up believingthat. I think that music is something that caninfluence generations.I can’t imagine myself singing songs that willengender negativity in any form. I have childrenand I want them to listen to songs that will spurthem to greater things, not songs that willencourage them to do wrong.

What is the difference between gospel music andinspirational music?

I gave you a background of the group I wascoming from, which was Kush. Kush wasinspirational . Kush was the only group in Nigeriathat was described as inspirational. So, thatdefinition of inspirational music literally camefrom there.It was a vision we had as a team, and it was avision each of us had. You will hear it in TyBello’s songs and in my songs as well. We hadsongs that were hard core gospel, songs thatwere directed to God and also songs about valuesthat were off God. For me, those are the songsthat I describe as being inspirational, as opposedto being just hardcore gospel.

What is your opinion about the Afro hip-hopmusic that seems to be the rave of the momentnow?

Honestly, I feel Nigerian music is beautiful interms of the sound. Unfortunately, much of itseems to be lacking in depth and in content. Weare the ones who push the mundane kind ofmusic; we are also the ones who complain thatthis is what fills the airwaves. This happensbecause this is what we promote.When you go to a radio station for an example,they would tell you, “Sorry, we cannot play yoursong because you are gospel”. They would tellyou that even on Sundays they have one hour forall the gospel songs. There’s high levelmarginalization in music too. Meanwhile, it costsa gospel artiste the same amount of money thatit costs your highest paid secular artiste toproduce a song and to shoot a video.It is not cheaper for me because I am a gospelartiste; as a matter of fact they will charge memore because they believe you are Lara George.They believe one has made so much moneystacked somewhere.We cannot deny the fact that you will have a lotof people not doing gospel music because nobodywants to put their money on it. Nobody wants toopen up the media to gospel music. A lot ofpeople are running from promoting gospel musicbecause they will tell them “Sorry we don’t doreligion”. That is the reality. That is what is goingon.It’s the reason why we have a lot of youngpeople starting off who don’t want to haveanything to do with inspirational music.

Do you do as many shows as mainstream hip-hop artistes do? How do you survive as a gospelartiste?

I have had a lot of support from my husband overthe years. When I started my solo career I wasliterally robbing Peter to pay Paul and the musicwas not paying for itself. I got to a point where Ihad to start saying no to everybody whoapproached me for free events because peoplealways expect that once you are gospel, youshould do free events. Churches will call you forfree events or give you next to nothing .The radio stations will call you for free shows,even people who organize non- church events willcall you for free shows when they have charityevents. They expect you to do the charity eventfor free, though they are the ones who have putup the charity event.I had to start putting my foot down. I startedcharging for what I did. I made a lot of enemies inthe process because a lot of people startedsaying: “Now she is acting like a diva”. The truthis that the music needed to pay for itself, which iswhat I am doing now; trying to make sure thatthe music actually funds itself.

We are gradually getting to the point where somegospel musicians are going mainstream .Do youthink its as a result of the content of their musicor the more promotion they get?

When you are looking for music that has truecontent and true value you will find it in gospel.Promotion has always been a problem.Even when you have the funds to promote thesong, there is a glass ceiling that is placed on topof those who are labeled inspirational. Forexample, I released a song recently titled LoveNwantintin which is a love song. I released itto celebrate my 10th year wedding anniversaryand I took that to a very popular TV station.They said to me: “We are going to play it only onSundays and I asked them, why only onSundays? I was told it’s because its gospel”. Itold them it’s a love song and asked them if theylistened to it. There is an assumption thatbecause one is mostly known for gospel songs,all you do are gospel songs.There are those in the industry who have alwayssupported good music. It’s because of peoplelike you that people like me have been able tostay relevant. There is no denying that whenthose people help to promote good music, then itgets heard and then there is a platform for otherpeople to actually appreciate what is being done.

From idols West Africa to the present, what haveyou learnt from that experience which has helpedyour career so far?

I love stage; it is the crowning point of a musicperformance. I was told years back that I couldnot do music in a certain way, that I could onlydo music that is quiet. I believed that for manyyears.So for many years, I didn’t try to do anythingdifferent. It’s been an experience and I am stilllearning even now. Every time that I attend aconcert and I watch other people, I try to takesomething away and I hope that when I get onstage next time that I will be a better artiste asa result of what I have learnt.

What is an inspirational singer doing with a lovesong?

Inspirational music is a melody that talks aboutany topic, but sees it from the God perspective.When Lara George chooses to sing about love,she isn’t singing about it from the perspective ofcynicism , I am singing about it from God’sperspective that says ‘ One man one wife’ andhanging in there when you are married.My husband and I celebrated ten years ofmarriage, I wanted to sing a different kind of lovesong that is unlike all of the cynicism that youhave out there.

What is responsible for your staying power?

To be honest, I don’t know. There have beentimes when I wanted to throw in the towel and Iam saying that it happens all the time. Somedays back, somebody said to me: “Lara, yoursongs are not popular, so we cannot have you onour show”.We get that kind of disrespect. I can’t imaginethem having the guts to talk to a secular artistethat way. As a result of the fact that you are agospel artiste, they feel that it’s okay to talk toyou that way. They are trying to negotiate andthey believe that it’s a good negotiation tactic.When you come across attitudes like that, itmakes you want to throw in the towel. It’s such abig deal that the publisher of Vanguard likes mysong even when I haven’t met him. It’s anaffirmation that one is doing something laudablewhen some people want to talk you down.Every day, I just say to God that if you want tokeep the work going, you literally have to make away and he has made a way constantly. Everytime that I had wanted to walk away from themusic, some doors would open. God keeps megoing.

How is your music doing outside of the country?

It’s doing really well. I had a concert in SanFrancisco and was amazed how many peoplewho knew my song. Before then, we had doneshows in Maryland, Houston and Los Angeles.The one that was most memorable was the songI did in Cotonou with over 10,000 French-speaking people singing my song.When they invited me, I was worried about whatto say to the people. Immediately I started thefirst song, they joined me in singing it word forword. They had done the remix of Kolebaje inFrench. Everybody knows the song there; even theremix isn’t as popular as the original version. Thereception from outside of the country has justbeen amazing.

Once upon a time, Lord of Ajasa was one of thewave-making artistes in Nigeria with hits like EsaLobade.But that was long time ago. These days, nothingmuch has been heard about the talented singer.Granted he has new singles which featuredOlamide and Kinihun, the songs didn’t bring himback to the level he was before.In a chat with Saturday Beats recently, the rapartiste said he wants to use Olamide to get backto the top same way Olamide used him yearsago when he was unknown.“It is normal because anybody can use anybodyto climb to the top. When Olamide started hismusic career, he used me because I featured inone of his song and nobody knew him then. Iwas very popular then but I humbled myself andI helped him. That is the kind of person that Iam. I feel that he is the one reigning in townnow and people like him, so if I feature him onmy album, it would be a good marketingstrategy. I can use him to move up and befamous again,” he said.The dark-skinned artiste debunked rumours thathe has any misunderstanding with Olamide,claiming that he is happy that he is successful.He said, “There is no ‘beef’ between me andOlamide. It is rumour mongers that create suchnews but the truth of the matter is that we don’thave any issue. In fact, we will soon shoot avideo for the song we did together. We shouldhave done it a while back but he has been busyperforming at various shows within and outsidethe country. Why would I ‘beef’ him? It is histime and everybody has their own time. He didnot do anything to me, so I cannot ‘beef’ him.Instead, I am celebrating him as he has becomesuccessful.”

Doctors under the aegis of the Medical Guildstaged a protest at the Lagos State UniversityTeaching Hospital, Ikeja, over the non-paymentof their August and September salaries.The doctors, who were seen carrying placardsaround LASUTH on Friday are also protestingnon-employment of resident doctors by the

hospitals’ management, casualisation andvictimisation of doctors.The Chairman of the guild, Dr. Biyi Kufo,appealed to the state government to accede tothe demands of the doctors in order to preventanother round of strike in the state.He said, “We want the government to pay thosewithheld salaries of August and September 2014,to stop employing doctors as casual workers,which they have been doing since 2012.“These doctors on contract employment have nocareer path, they can be dismissed at theslightest notice and we want them to resumetraining of specialists at LASUTH.“They are no longer employing doctors forspecialist training and given a few years, therewill no longer be specialists to render services toLagosians.“The government continues to victimise doctorsand we want them to stop, “ he added.The chairman noted that the protest was held tobring to the notice of the public the various actsof victimisation and intimidation against doctorsunder the employ of the state government.He said, “When we go on strike, the people whosuffer are the public and that is the reason weare bringing this protest to the public space.“We did this in the hope that, perhaps this time,things will change, “he added.The Vice Chairman of the guild, Dr. Oseni Saliu,also said that doctors would continue to fight fortheir rights and urged the public to appeal to thegovernment in order to avoid further crisis.He said, “We are ready to render services to ourpeople and we are not ready for anybody tosubjugate us and we will always fight for ourrights.“If the government continues to push us and ifthere is need for action, we will take the action.”The President, Association of Resident Doctors,LASUTH chapter, Dr. Abdusalam Moruf, said thatthere had been no residency training programmeat the hospital since 2011.He said, “ LASUTH has been turned into ageneral hospital because residents are not beingemployed and as such no one is graduating tobecome consultants.“There are very few specialists to attend tocases such as hypertension, diabetes, stroke andsome complex surgeries because teachinghospitals are not training enough. Such caseswill have to be treated outside the country.”The president urged the government to employmore resident doctors to address the imminentshortage of experts.All attempt to speak with the Chief MedicalDirector of LASUTH, Prof. Wale Oke, provedabortive as our correspondent was told he wason his annual leave.

The Independent National Electoral Commissionon Friday failed to distribute Permanent VoterCards at the Ward G3, State Junior SecondarySchool, the polling unit where the StateGovernor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, and his wife,Abimbola, registered.It was learnt that some INEC ad-hoc staff hadearlier pasted a notice to notify voters who hadregistered in the two wards on Itolo Street thatthey had no PVC.The commission said the voters would have toregister afresh at a later date.The notice pasted at the entrance of the schoolread, “We regret to inform you that those whoregistered in this polling unit do not havePermanent Voter Cards. Please come backbetween 3rd and 8th of December 2014 for freshregistration.”Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner,Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, attributed thedevelopment to loss of data arising from thecrash of their computing system.“Yes, some of the data captured during theregistration in 2010 crashed. This was thereason we lost about 1.4 million data for voters.We are embarking on fresh registration for themand others who were unable to register in the2010 registration.”Fashola had yet to react to the development.

The Syrian government has criticised US-led airstrikes in Syria for failing to weaken the IslamicState of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as Damascuscalled on Turkey to do more to stop the armedgroup.Syria’s foreign minister said in a interview onFriday that he was willing to work withany country to tackle ISIL but that unless Turkeytightened its border controls, the group wouldnot be stopped.“All the indications say that [ISIL] today, aftertwo months of coalition air strikes, is notweaker,” Walid Muallem said in an interview withAl Mayadeen TV.“If the Security Council and Washington do notforce Turkey to control its borders then all of thisaction will not eliminate [ISIL].”Turkey, which has a porous 900km border withSyria, has strongly denied accusations it allowsfighters cross into Syria to joing the war againstSyrian President Bashar al-Assad.Thousands of foreign fighters are believed tohave joined ISIL in its self-proclaimed caliphate,after it seized large areas of eastern Syria andwestern Iraq.US-led coalition jets have carried out hundredsof strikes against ISIL positions in Syria sinceSeptember, mainly near the besieged town ofKobane, as it aims to roll back gains by thegroup.The Syrian civil war, which began three and ahalf years ago as an uprising against Assad’sregime has killed an estimated 200,000 people,with the UN and rights groups repeatedly urgingDamascus to refrain from targeting civilianareas.

The Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, flayedformer President Olusegun Obasanjo for allegedlycriticising Jonathan’s administration oncorruption and insecurity.Fayose, who spoke at a summit in Ife, said thatObasanjo had no moral justification to criticiseJonathan’s administration because the formerPresident’s government was far more corruptthan the one he criticised.The attack from Fayose came just as notableleaders of the Yoruba race present at the summitendorsed Jonathan for a second term in office.The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, lednotable traditional rulers from many Yorubatowns majority of who are from Ekiti State to thesummit.The matriarch of Awolowo family, Chief H.I.DAwolowo, was represented at the summit by herdaughter, Mrs. Tola Oyediran. Fayose, whospoke after all the Yoruba leaders had spoken,stated that he would not toe the line of Yorubaleaders who spoke before him.He said, “I will differ a bit, we need to hit the nailon the head. We are dealing with monsters andwe need to treat them as monsters. My name isAyodele Fayose, the Oshokomole, ‘irunmole to nje jollof rice’.”Apparently asking Jonathan not to lobbyObasanjo for support, Fayose said, “Even if yougive your blood, your being, your strength andyour life to Obasanjo, he would not support you.“We know him more than you know him. He willnot want a man with independent mind.“Mr. President, you have refused to toe the pathof unconstitutionality. You have refused to levelBorno and other states like he levelled Odi inBayelsa State.“You are taking your time to respect humanrights by not committing crime againsthumanity, he won’t like that.“Your Excellency, the more you try to curryObasanjo’s favour, the more he would continueto disparage you. If you continue to curry hisfavour, we are not going to curry him. Hedoesn’t like people that give him respect.“Your Excellency, your second term has beenconcluded in heaven. Fear not! Obasanjoaccused government of the day of corruption, butwhat happened to the N50m he shared to eachsenator and House of Representatives memberduring his third term agenda that failed?“What do you call the donations to ObasanjoLibrary? That is corruption. Go and check thecode of conduct, the form filled by Obasanjo. Weknew when he came out of the prison; we knewhis situation,

Friday, 28 November 2014

Has anyone seen the flying blackhorse in Saudi Arabia? Is this a hoax or for real?According to what we’ve gathered on9janewsarena.com ; this has been trending online, Ablack horse was filmed flying in Jeddah, SaudiArabia. Watch the video below:

Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University,OAU, are currently staging a peaceful protest ontheir campus. The students say they are angrythat all activities at their school have beensuspended due to President Jonathan's visit.They also say they are protesting the failure ofthe educational system under the GEJadministration. See more photos after the cut...

Apparently the fight between Okadamen, busdrivers and thugs today in the Lekki Phase 1area of Lagos was more serious than wethought. Machetes were used and someone died.A young man was struck in the back of the headwith a Machette and was taken to the nearestplace they could find, a lab, not a hospital. Thelab called for an ambulance to take the injuredman to a hospital and for 3 hours, no ambulanceshowed up. The guy eventually died possiblyfrom loss of blood. Above is a pic of his body asit was being transported in a police van viaLekki-Ikoyi bridge.

The doctors at the Brazilian hospital whereBrazilian football legend Pele is being treated forkidney disease say his condition is improving.According to local media reports, the 74 year oldhas been in intensive care unit since MondayNov. 24th because of a urinary infection he gotafter having surgery to remove kidney stones onNovember 13th. Doctors expect him to make afull recovery as he's currently breathing normallywithout any support.

Residents in Okpoko of Ogbaru LGA of AnambraState were shocked yesterday [Nov. 27] whennews broke that a housewife in the community,names withheld, had dumped her newborn babyinto the toilet. She was said to have a protrudedstomach, a peculiar nature that made manypeople in the area, not to be aware that she waspregnant.She decided to dump the newborn baby into thetoilet, to save her the agony of nursing a baby,which, she said, could disturb her business.According to Nigerian Tribune, when a member ofthe family, her brother-in-law, wanted to use thetoilet, he discovered that water could not flushthe waste, as his faeces remained floating. Herbrother-in-law discovered to his surprise, that aplacenta had been dumped into the toilet, asituation which made him to scream, attractingother residents to the scene, who in utter disbeliefremoved the lifeless baby from the toilet.When the whole family met shortly after theincident and summoned other family members,some of them saw traces of blood stain on thewoman’s clothes, the wife of their elder brother,but she refused to give details of the bizarre act,and even denied knowledge of what happened.She was thereafter taken to a maternity homewhere it was confirmed that she had given birthto a baby, but when the husband was contacted,he said his wife was in police custody anddeclined further comments.Anambra command Police Public Relations Officer,Mr Uche Eze, said they had not heard about thematter, but said if it was true, they would receivefull details of the report from the DPO of OkpokoPolice Station.

Former US prez was snapped looking at stunningbrunette Ari’elle Avdali’s a’s’sets at Jerusalem’sMount Herzl National Cemetery.Seemingly unaware that a selfie was being taken,Clinton is seen looking downwards at Avdali’schest while she looks at the camera.She shared the hilarious pic with thecaption:“Billy boy checking on my tatas.”And of course that sent it instantly viral!

According to a DNA test recently carried out bythe father of 5 on his children, shows two ofthem, Dupe and Tosin are not his. He revealedthis to Encomium few days ago in an interview,regretting why a woman should give him what isnot is.Here’s how Encomium puts it;Out of his alleged five children: Made, Afolabi,Dupe, Tosin and Ayomide, two of them, Dupe andTosin (a boy and a girl) have been discovered notto be his biological children, according to arecent DNA test. He confessed being disappointedand pained that a woman can actually givesomeone what does not belong to him.“I did a DNA test and was told two of the childrenare not mine. The first two (after Made), a boyand a girl. It is very serious. I never knewsomebody could give you what is not yours. I’vethree boys now. I can’t father children I wastricked to believe I am their father,” he lamented.Because of the betrayal, he returned the twochildren, Dupe and Tosin, to their mothers.Funke, his ex-wife, gave birth to his first childand son, Made, who Femi treasures so much. AndBisi Ajala gave birth to Ayomide and one otherchild that the DNA test recently proved not to beFemi’s. The third woman’s name was notrevealed.

Reports we are monitoring indicate that anImprovised Explosive Device, IED, has goneoff at the Central Mosque, Kano just as theMuslim faithful were observing the Juma’atprayers on Friday afternoon.The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu SanusiII, who usually leads prayers at the Mosque,was reportedly absent when the explosionoccurred.Details of casualties are still sketchy as ofthe time of publishing this report but manypeople are feared dead.No group has claimed responsibility yet forthe attack.Details later…

Thursday, 27 November 2014

ABOUT two months after schools re-openedbehind schedule due to the Ebola Virus Disease,EVD, it seems that the instituted regulations andhygiene policies have been abandoned by staff,students and management of some public andprivate schools.Recall that the EVD was brought into Nigeria inAugust with the arrival of the late American-Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, and it killed over eightpeople. This resulted in the shift in theresumption of schools by the Minister ofEducation, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, whocharged all state Ministries of Education toimmediately organise and ensure that, at least,two staff in all public and private schools aretrained on how to handle any suspected case ofEbola and also embark on immediatesensitization of all teaching and non-teachingstaff in all schools on preventive measures.Also, as a result of pressure from the statechapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT,the Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fasholafurther postponed the resumption date to October13 to enable it adequately distribute EVDpreventive kits to all public schools in the state.But despite these, most schools have relaxed onenforcing or have completely jettisoned thepreventive measures as directed by the Ministerof Health so as to prevent further contact andspread of the virus, giving rise to the question:should hand washing be just to prevent furthercontracting and spread of EVD or should it bepart of our daily hygiene?A visit to some schools in Lagos revealed thatwhile there were still different degrees ofcompliance by different schools, some havetotally abandoned these preventive measures.For Amarachi Francis, a student of PromiselandCollege, Weighbridge, Ikorodu Road, “we don’twash our hands any more neither do we have ourtemperatures checked in my school becauseNigeria is free of Ebola so there is no need for usto continue to practice such, especially as theyare time-consuming.”Likewise, a student of Jestoban College, Ketu,Adeola Dairo, students are at will to decidewhether to comply or not as there are no strictenforcement of these preventive measures.She said: “Initially, we used to have ourtemperatures checked, wash our hands and usethe sanitizers before entering the school and evenbefore we enter the school bus. But now, nobodyenforces that anymore, so we decided to skipthose checks and would not be penalised.”Giving reasons why they have relaxed onenforceing the measures, the Head Nurse, RybekaModel College, Olodi-Apapa, Joy Ogechi, said:“We have been checking their temperatures but itis really time-consuming, especially as they arehaving their continuous assessment tests, wehardly check them now. The bucket and soap arestill there and the children use them.“Though the country has been declared Ebola freefor over a month, we have continued the hand-washing and temperature checking, at least, tillthe end of the year. This will give us more time toinstil the hand- washing habit in the students sothey will grow with it.”Though a student from DeLight InternationalSchool, Olodi Apapa, said her temperature has notbeen checked for a while though she still washesher hands, the Principal, Mrs. Rita Ofoegbu,however, said the reason why they didn’t checktheir temperatures was because it was on aFriday, which is a half day for schools.“But we have been checking their temperaturesbecause we have had reasons to send backchildren who are not feeling well as some parentsare in the habit of dumping their sick children onus. The digital thermometer has made it easierand saves us a lot of trouble because even if it isnot Ebola, we send any sick child back”, Ofoegbusaid.

Pointing out that his students have alreadyimbibed hand-washing habit, the Head Teacher,Umbrella Schools, Lagos, Mr. Ben Teah, said: “Westill check their temperatures, and will continuedoing so till the end of the session as directed bythe proprietress. The children are already used tohand-washing so we can’t take that away. Theywash their hands when they come in the morningor after using the convenience. If the water isfinished they go to the person in charge to fill itup for them. It has become a habit, which is nota bad one to imbibe.”Public schools are not left out as a visit aroundtown showed that a good number of them areguilty of failing to comply with the preventivedirectives.Defending their failure to completely complydespite insisting that teachers would not resumetill the necessary EVD preventive kits have beensupplied to all public schools in the state, theChairperson, Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT,Lagos State Chapter, Comrade Segun Raheem,said most schools don’t have access to water tofor their students to wash their hands. Accordingto Raheem, “it is true we insisted that thesepreventive measures be provided and at the rightquantity, and have held several meetings sinceresumption to ensure full implementation by allbecause we insist that these hygienic steps bepart of our lives and not just to prevent EVD.“For schools that have abandoned thesemeasures, especially hand-washing, it is as aresult of lack of access to water due to no publicpower supply to power their generators (if theyhave any) or have run out of funds to buy water.But despite these, I’m assuring you that theimplementation committee would look into this.”Despite the various reasons given by theseschools, a community health specialist, Dr.Ifeoluwa Sulaimon, insists that regular and properhand-washing habit go a long way in preventingus from being sick and from spreading germs toothers around us.“For example, you sneeze or cough into yourhands or even touch fecal matter after using thetoilet/handling a pet and use same hands toscratch your eyes, pick your nose, bite your nailsand touch others by shaking/hugging them orusing same hands to handle food materials whichbecome contaminated and consumed by you andother persons. The chain of events could beunending.

Introduction of bacteria

“Our hands are the most exposed parts of ourbodies to germs and the aforementioned bodyparts are lined by very thin mucous membranesthrough which germs could easily gain entry intothe body system thereby leading to theintroduction of bacteria into the body and thenthe individual becomes sick!“This concept is the reason why emphasis wasplaced on regular hand washing in order toameliorate the scourge of the dreaded EVD as thechain of events resulting from germ transmissionfrom person to person can only be interrupted byregular washing of hands.“This would reduce the load of germs transmittedthereby reducing the chances of you and othersfalling sick. Therefore, take responsibility bywashing your hands regularly after coming incontact with diverse surfaces.”

CORRUPTION as a recurring factor in Nigeriaagain came under focus on Wednesday withformer President Olusegun Obasanjo rapping thePresident Goodluck Jonathan administration andthe National Assembly for promoting corruptionand poor governance.“For quite some time, the covered and hushed-up corruption has had its toll on the economy,”Obasanjo said.He said the increasing corruption under Jonathanhad damaged the economy, warning that “in thefuture, we will have a budget that cannot befunded.”“We may have to borrow to pay salaries andallowances. Revenue allocation to states andlocal governments has already drasticallyreduced. Capital projects at all levels may haveto be drastically cut or stopped,” he added.The ex-President spoke in Abuja at thepresentation of books by a former Chairman ofthe Independent Corrupt Practices and OtherRelated Offences Commission, retired JusticeMustapha Akanbi. Obasanjo was the chairman ofthe occasion.He said, “Nigeria cannot continue to indulge indisdain of truth, elevation of corruption andincompetence, reinforcement of failure,condonation of heinous crimes and celebration ofmediocrity, tribal bigotry, fomenting violence andanti-democratic practices in states and NationalAssembly.“Corruption in the National Assembly alsoincludes what they call constituency projects,which they give to their agents to execute, butinvariably, full payment is made with little or nojob done.“In all these, if the executive is absolutely aboveboard, the offending members of the NationalAssembly resort to subtle or open threat,intimidation and blackmail of the executive.”On the escalating insurgency by the violentIslamic sect, Boko Haram, Obasanjo saidJonathan’s delayed understanding of the menaceposed by the group caused the worseninginsecurity in the country.He said, “Boko Haram is not simply a menacebased on religion or one directed to frustrateanybody’s political ambition. It is essentially asocio-economic problem that is tainted withreligion. It is a gargantuan danger to the nationand to all Nigerians.“Initially, President Jonathan’s understanding ofBoko Haram phenomenon suffered from wrongreading and wrong imputation. That is what ledus to where we are today.“It took even the President more than three yearsto appreciate and understand that it is a terriblemix of poor education or lack of education;misinterpretation of what Islam and the Quranteach and stand for, poverty, unemployment,injustice, drug, gun trafficking, human trafficking,fallout from Libya, revenge, frustration, struggleagainst inequality, imitation of internationalterrorism leading to training and part of theabsorption by international terrorist groups andgeneral poor governance, including corruption. Ihave always maintained that the solution toBoko Haram or any organisation like it lies in theapplication of carrot and stick approach.”However, Obasanjo did not go unchallenged atthe forum as the Oba of Lagos, who was alsothe chief launcher of the Akanbi books, ObaRilwanu Akiolu, accused Obasanjo of failing toaccount for the barrels of crude oil sales despiteboasting he would do so before he came topower.Akinolu said Obasanjo, before he assumed thePresidency in 1999, pledged to ensuretransparency in the Nigerian oil sector “but laterreneged on his promise as the oil sector wasbesieged with quantum corruption.”“Obasanjo failed to address the problems withthe number of crude oil per barrel produceddaily; how many barrels are exported for sale aswell as the use of the proceeds”, the monarchalleged.The ex-President fired back that it was duringhis tenure that allocation to states becametransparent with the publication of monthlyrevenue to the three tiers of government.

He said his government “also worked outmodalities to enthrone accountability andtransparency in the oil sector.”Vice-Presient Namadi Sambo, who wasrepresented by his Senior Special Assistant(Monitoring), Mr. Femi Oladele, commendedJustice Akanbi’s effort on anti-corruption andcommitment to service.He said by carving a niche for himself in the fightagainst graft, the jurist had left indeliblefootprints in the sands of time.In his remarks, Akanbi observed that althoughthere were allegations of witch – hunt during theObasanjo administration, the ex-President neverinterfered with his job in the ICPC.